


Built With My Own Two Hands

by solarishashernoseinabook



Series: For the Rest of Our Lives [3]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Fluff, Injury, M/M, Mild Angst, Older Will and Horace, Retirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22650961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarishashernoseinabook/pseuds/solarishashernoseinabook
Summary: An injury forces Will into retirement. Luckily Horace is there to help him out.
Relationships: Horace Altman/Will Treaty
Series: For the Rest of Our Lives [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646935
Comments: 14
Kudos: 39
Collections: Ranger's Apprentice Valentine's Day Gift Exchange





	Built With My Own Two Hands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aseikh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aseikh/gifts).



> Thanks so so much to thebutterflyranger for beta reading! 
> 
> This was originally going to be shorter and fluffier and then it kinda...got away from me. A sort-of sequel to A Quiet Spot of Hunting, but you don't need to have read that one to get this
> 
> Certain tags excluded to prevent spoilers, forgive me.

_‘I’m going to make my husband meals every day. And if he tries to get in my way…’ Jenny waved her wooden spoon with a grin. The Ward children were fourteen, and had only just started talking to each other about their future married lives._

_'I'd love to have a wife I could have a discussion with—’ George began._

_'If you’d ever stop talking long enough for her to listen,’ Jenny said good-naturedly, and everyone laughed, even George._

_‘I’d build my wife a house with my own hands,’ Horace said, drawing himself up impressively. Jenny and Alyss sighed. ‘So romantic,’ Jenny murmured._

_Alyss turned to Will. ‘What about you, Will?’_

_Will stayed quiet. He couldn’t see himself marrying a woman at all._

*

The gold oak leaf lay heavy in Will’s hand.

It had been a long time coming. It had been time six years ago, when he had his apprentice taking on a major role in missions. It had definitely been time three years ago, when he had to start turning down longer or harder missions and sending his apprentices along with other rangers. He couldn’t deny it was time six months ago, when Tug had thrown him.

Not on purpose, of course. But Tug was getting older as well, about time to be retired, and they had been cantering on uneven ground, and when Tug stumbled, Will fell as well. His leg had broken in three places, and his shoulder hurt sharply whenever he drew his bow. Over the months the pain in his shoulder lessened, but he wasn’t able to walk without leaning heavily on a crutch.

He had stayed on during the healing process. He had two apprentices, identical twins named Joey and Roy, who had been close to graduation. He took them off missions temporarily, had them handle local matters on their own, and observed their techniques when shooting, hunting, or making and maintaining basic equipment. He didn’t have to so much, these all being skills they had been practicing for years, but it was something to do to fill time until the Gathering, when they could graduate and go on to their own fiefs.

The Gathering was a melancholy affair for Will that year. He spent all of it sitting to one side, occasionally standing with his stick, speaking with Gilan whenever he had a spare moment. He wasn’t lonely – Will Treaty was too famous for that. Rangers and apprentices alike would come to him regularly, offering him food and drink and conversing with him. But he couldn’t enjoy it the way he had in previous years.

The last day of the Gathering, Joey and Roy had packed Will’s things and loaded them in a cart pulled by an old but reliable donkey. Roy jumped and twirled onto the cart and reached his hand down to help Will up, which Will reluctantly took. ‘I could do that once, you know,’ he said gruffly.

‘Might as well enjoy it while I can,’ Roy said with a grin, and jumped off the cart as Will gave him a good-natured bonk with his crutch.

Now Will was sitting in the cart, letting the donkey meander down the trail, looking at the gold oak leaf in his hand. His injured leg was stretched out in front of him and pained him with every bump in the trail. He wondered if Halt had felt this way when he retired – so lost, so unsure of what to do next.

‘Penny for your thoughts?’

Will jerked his head up. Horace was there on Victory, his massive destrier, wearing a close-fitting tunic with his crest on it and with his sword belted at his side. He still wore it, despite having retired a few years before himself. He grinned. ‘Figured you’d be on your own coming back. Thought I’d offer you company.’

Will smiled up at him. ‘Thanks, Horace.’ He sighed as he put on the oakleaf. ‘I’m just…out of sorts right now.’

‘Hm.’ Horace watched as the cart bounced over a tree root and Will winced. ‘Wanna ride instead?’

‘What?’ Will grumbled, rubbing his leg.

‘You miss being on horseback, don’t you? So come on.’ Horace reigned in his horse and offered his arm. After a moment Will clicked his tongue to the donkey, who stopped instantly and started to nibble on grass, and Will stood, pushing himself heavily against the edge of the cart to maintain his stance. He took Horace’s outstretched hand and clambered on in front of him with Horace’s help. With another click the donkey reluctantly started moving again and Horace resumed his pace, settling into position just in front of the donkey to lead it away.

Will was reluctant to admit it, but Horace had been right: he did miss riding. He could stretch out his leg more easily this way, Victory’s smooth gait hurt less than the bumpy cart, and he felt properly at home here. He leaned back against Horace’s broad chest, his head nestling perfectly under the taller man’s chin.

‘How was the Gathering?’ Horace asked after a moment.

‘Fine,’ Will said shortly.

‘Hm. Did they assign anyone to Redmont yet?’

‘Yeah, Lou Striker. One of Gilan’s old apprentices. He’s got a few years under his belt, he’s a good lad.’ But Horace could hear the bitter note in Will’s voice. He took one hand off the reins and put it over Will’s hand, resting on the pommel. ‘Lou can handle Redmont just fine,’ he said softly. ‘Almost as well as you can. And maybe now you and I can spend more time together.’

Will closed his eyes and tilted his head back, kissing Horace’s chin. ‘I know. I’ll just miss the old cabin. I suppose we’ll have to take rooms in the castle.’

‘It’s not so bad,’ Horace said. ‘It’s warm in the winter, and someone makes all your meals for you.’

Will just sighed. Horace wrapped his arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze. ‘You’ll adapt, Will,’ he said softly. ‘I adapted, too. Retired rangers usually do paperwork, right?’

‘Yeah,’ Will said. ‘Gilan said he’s looking forward to working with me again. It’d be nice to talk to him regularly.’

Will felt Horace rein up and turn him gently in the saddle so they were facing each other. ‘Hora—?’ Will said, but he was cut off by a kiss.

It had been a long time since Horace had kissed him like this. The past couple years Will had kept himself busy to compensate for taking on fewer missions, too busy, he now realised, to have spent much time with the man he had loved for decades now.

The man who was basically a husband to him.

Horace pulled back for air and Will looked into his eyes. ‘…I’m sorry, Horace.’

Horace just smiled and kissed Will’s forehead. ‘There’s nothing to apologise for.’

*

Will spent a long time standing in the door of the cabin the next morning, a selection of wildflowers held loosely in his hand.

Horace had taken on the majority of work packing their things and loading it into the same donkey cart they had come back with the night before. He was folding the last of their clothes and placing them into wooden boxes. He picked up the final box and turned, a look of surprise appearing on his face when he saw Will. ‘Oh, you’re back.’

‘Been here for a while. You still can’t fold cloaks properly,’ Will said.

‘Maybe if you didn’t sleep in your cloak so much it wouldn’t have so many wrinkles and I could fold it easier,’ Horace said.

‘You should know me and account for it by now. Why didn’t you notice me, anyway? This thing isn’t exactly quiet.’ Will kicked his crutch lightly.

‘To you, maybe, but it’s too quiet for me.’ Horace pecked his lips. ‘Once a ranger, always a ranger. Now, you gonna keep blocking my way?’

Will grinned. ‘Maybe. Depends on if you can pay the toll or not.’

Horace shifted the box to his hip and tilted Will’s head up to kiss him properly. Will maintained the kiss as long as he could before having to pull back to take a breath and he stepped out of the way to let Horace go.

They had had a very nice night when they had gotten back to the cabin. Horace had clearly asked Jenny to make their favourite food, because she was waiting for them with it. They had sat by the fire on a long, low couch Will had bought when Horace started staying the night regularly, Will in Horace’s embrace, his head resting on his chest and feeling as much as hearing Horace reminisce on old missions they’d gone on together. They had fallen asleep like that, warmed by the fire and the heat from their bodies.

Will went to the window. He took out the old bundle of flowers, brown and wilted, and put in the fresh ones. He wanted to welcome Lou to the cabin the way Halt had welcomed him. It felt like a lifetime ago now; it was a lifetime ago, he supposed.

He looked up at Horace, packing the box away amongst the rest of their things. There seemed to be so few of them now. A few boxes, the couch – which Will had privately enjoyed seeing Horace lift into the cart – their weapons and personal possessions. Will hadn’t realised how portable his life really was; how he could have carried almost everything he owned without being overly bothered by their weight. Perhaps now they could collect some nice things. Some art, perhaps, or comfier clothes.

Horace turned back to him and smiled, and Will smiled back. Maybe living at the castle wouldn’t be so bad after all.

*

Gilan met them at Castle Araluen. He got Will down from Victory with Horace’s help; the two days hard riding had caused Will’s leg to go stiff and he stumbled when he reached the ground. Horace jumped down and steadied him and Gilan handed Will his crutch, and Will smiled at them. ‘Thanks.’

His smile faded as he took a step and nearly stumbled again. Horace caught him and leaned in. ‘Do you need help getting in?’ he said softly.

Will sighed. ‘If I could just lean on you, I think I’ll be okay.’

Horace nodded, putting his arm under Will’s and helping him into the castle. Behind them, Gilan summoned servants to carry up their belongings and take care of the cart. The servants must have taken an alternate path, because by the time Will and Horace had hobbled up to their rooms their things were already there, deposited neatly in the centre of it so they could pack them away themselves.

Horace helped Will into a chair and Will sank into it gratefully. They had two rooms: the main room they were in, large and circular, with a fireplace, table and chairs, and hung with a tapestry showing a battle against Scandian raiders. The floor was carpeted, the shutters on the narrow window flung open to allow a fresh breeze and evening sunlight to come in. To one side, a door opened into a modest bedroom with room for a bed, wardrobe and washbasin.

Horace stood behind Will’s chair, hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s not bad, is it?’

‘No,’ Will said slowly. ‘Not bad at all.’

After resting a spell, Will got his crutch under him and stood. Horace knelt at the fireplace to light it and Will put away their things. He knew by now how Horace organised his belongings, and put everything away the way they had been when they were living in his cabin. When he came out, Horace had a fire lit and some old leather water-skins laid in front of it. Before Will could question, a knock came at the door and a servant stepped in with a tray of food that they left on the table for them. Horace gestured for Will to sit. ‘ _Bon appetite_.’

Will snorted. ‘Even Halt’s pronunciation was better than yours.’

‘Shut up, you,’ Horace said with a grin. Will grinned back and took a seat.

Dinner that day was a rich venison stew with soft bread for dipping and they spoke little as they ate – the journey had been long and Will was hungry. When he was done he went to the couch and laid back on it, stretching out his leg. Horace picked up the water-skins and laid them against Will’s leg; the fire had warmed them and the heat soothed the stiffness. Will groaned appreciatively. ‘Have I mentioned I love you lately?’

‘Once or twice.’ Horace pecked his cheek and moved to sit behind Will, wrapping his arms around him. Will leaned back against him, putting one hand over Horace’s and lacing their fingers.

‘Almost reminds you of our room at Redmont, doesn’t it?’ Will said.

Horace snorted. ‘This room isn’t much bigger than the one you, me and George shared.’

‘Bigger than what we had in the cabin,’ Will said with a grin.

‘And we don’t have to worry about cooking.’

Will’s grin widened. ‘How’ll you occupy your time, then?’

‘Probably help out at the battle school here. I came every so often when they needed me. Till your accident, that is,’ Horace said. ‘What about you?’

Will looked into the fire. ‘I guess tomorrow I’ll start on paperwork.’

‘You don’t want to rest?’ Horace frowned.

‘I’m not that weak. I think I can handle holding a quill,’ Will said.

‘I didn’t say that,’ Horace said, stroking his hair. ‘The rangers work downstairs. Are you gonna be okay getting down there?’

Will didn’t answer, and Horace didn’t press.

*

The sound of the cup being put down jerked Will out of his reverie. He realised he’d been looking out the window, for how long he didn’t know. His quill had been resting against the parchment, creating a blot at the edge of the page. He hastily took his quill off and rested it in his inkpot. ‘Thanks—oh,’ he said, looking up. Over the past several days Will had gotten used to servants coming to give him coffee, but this time it was Gilan, holding a cup of his own. Gilan grinned. ‘I missed it too,’ he said, ‘being out in the action. Still do. Being commandant has its drawbacks.’

Will nodded absently as he took his coffee and sipped it. Gilan had sweetened it perfectly and he smiled. ‘You make this better than the servants do.’

Gilan grinned. ‘They still haven’t learned how I like it. I usually just make it myself.’ He took a long sip of coffee and gestured at the paperwork. ‘How’s it going?’

‘As well as you think,’ Will said, sighing. ‘I never liked reports much, but at least I used to be able to sit outside to break the monotony.’

Gilan nodded sympathetically. ‘What about you and Horace? How’re you settling in?’

‘Can’t complain. The room’s comfortable enough,’ Will said.

‘What a ringing endorsement,’ Gilan said with a grin. He leaned in, lowering his voice. ‘And are you two still…?’

There was something in his demeanour Will couldn’t quite decipher. Gilan had never judged Will and Horace for their relationship, but Will knew much of the kingdom did. He nodded. ‘As strong as ever,’ he said softly.

‘You two look like an old married couple,’ Gilan said with a grin.

‘We practically are,’ Will said, returning the grin. ‘We’ve been together thirty years.’

Will could have sworn he heard Gilan mutter _holy shit_. He smiled slightly. ‘It surprises me too. I keep wondering where all the years went.’ He sipped his coffee. ‘You and Jenny are coming on for, what, forty years?’

‘Thirty-nine in the spring,’ he said with a grin.

‘And you think _I’ve_ been in a relationship long?’ Will said with a smirk.

‘That’s different. You’re practically my little brother.’ Gilan’s warm smile turned into a smirk. ‘Emphasis on _little_.’

He ducked the crumpled ball of parchment thrown at his head and went back to his desk, laughing.

*

Summer turned to autumn, then to winter. Slowly, Will settled into a routine. Horace served him breakfast in bed every morning, the better to rest his leg so he could hobble down two sets of stairs to where the rangers worked. He took lunch with the others, then worked through the afternoon until, slowly and painfully, he hobbled back upstairs to his rooms, where Horace, in from a day of supervising young knights, would put warm waterskins against his leg and they would talk about their days.

Slowly Will learned that the world was not designed for anyone who was not perfectly normal. Everything that made Castle Araluen defensible – twisting, narrow staircases, heavy wood doors that were hard as rock, and high towers – also made it very hard on his leg. Gilan offered to let him work in his room, but Will refused; he felt bad enough about having so much trouble walking without being stuck in his rooms as well, and the rangers’ floor had more windows, so that if he looked out them and lost himself in thought, he could almost believe he was outside, the breeze blowing his hair. Then winter came, and the shutters were closed tightly, and Will had to content himself with the crackling of the fire and the smell of his coffee, which Gilan made sure was always at hand.

Slowly spring returned to Araluen, and as soon as the weather warmed Will threw open the window nearest to him and turned his desk to sit next to it. He ignored the grumbles from other rangers and smiled, his eyes closed, his hands wrapped around his coffee cup.

The sounds of the battle school floated up from the yard outside. He opened his eyes and looked out, but couldn’t make out individual people at the distance they were at. A sudden fancy struck him and he turned. ‘Gilan—’

‘Yeah, yeah, go,’ Gilan said with a grin, waving him off. ‘Have fun.’

Will grabbed his crutch, wrapped his cloak around his shoulders, and went out to the battle school. He took his time, resting after every flight of stairs, before walking through the patchy snow to where Sir Kay, the battlemaster, was calling out attacks. Kay raised a hand to wave to Will, then said something to the apprentices, who started up a standard routine while Kay went over. ‘Ranger Will,’ he said respectfully, bowing his head. He was twice Will’s size, but Kay, like most, was wary around rangers, and knowing Will casually through his relationship with Horace didn’t change that.

Will smiled at him. ‘Sir Kay. The apprentices look like they’re doing well.’

‘That they are, that they are.’ Kay nodded.

Will swept his gaze over the apprentices. Besides them and Kay, the only other people were some senior apprentices providing additional supervision. ‘Where’s Horace?’

Kay’s bemusement actually showed through despite his unease. ‘He hasn’t told you?’

‘Told me what?’ Will said.

‘Horace hasn’t come around for a few months now. Said he had something he had to do.’

*

Will didn’t know how long he’d been staring at the fire when he heard Horace’s footsteps in the hall outside. He didn’t turn around when the door opened, nor when he heard Horace kick his boots off. ‘Huh,’ he said, sounding out of breath. ‘You’re back early. Some kinda occasion?’

‘I went to see the battle school today,’ Will said.

There was a moment of silence. ‘I had to—’

‘Hadn’t been there for months, Kay said,’ Will went on. ‘Not that you bothered telling me. Who knew you were so good at sneaking around.’

‘Will, listen—’

Will jumped to his feet and wheeled around. ‘Listen to _what_ , Horace?! To how you just fucked right off and went to do who knows what for months while I’ve been working my ass off in a dusty room?! To how you wasted your days while I’ve been cut off from everything?! To how you decided to go off and do fuck all instead of being weighed down because your partner’s a goddamn invalid?!’

‘ _Will!_ ’ Horace snapped. Will was abruptly jerked out of his temper. Hot tears were sliding down his cheeks and his leg was quivering under him. He realised belatedly he had landed on it when he jumped, and that his crutch was still resting against the couch.

Horace noticed and crossed the room in swift strides, gathering Will into his arms before he could fall. Will gripped Horace’s shirt in his fists. He’d been outside, and for a long time, because the shirt was cold to the touch, but Will could smell his sweat – whatever he had been doing, he was active doing it.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, voice muffled by Horace’s bulk.

‘No, I’m sorry,’ Horace said. ‘I didn’t realise how hard this had been on you. I should’ve been more honest.’

He helped Will sit and crouched in front of him, holding his hand in both of his. ‘I need you to trust in me for a bit, Will, okay? Just a few more days. I have something planned, but I – I need to finish it first.’

Will was quiet, and Horace squeezed his hand. ‘Just a few more days. Please.’

Will looked into Horace’s kind, open face. He was so sincere, so earnest.

‘Okay.’

*

Two days later, Will was at his desk when Gilan stopped by with two cups of coffee. He set one down and checked how Will’s work was coming on, then put a hand on Will’s shoulder. ‘Will, I want you to take the day off tomorrow.’

Will blinked in surprise. ‘Why? What’s happening tomorrow?’

‘You’ll find out in, oh, about twenty-four hours. Why don’t you go visit Tug? Bob’s in this fief visiting family, and he’s got a few of the horses with him to be seen by the queen’s vet.’

Will smiled. ‘I’d like that,’ he said.

The next day Will awoke after Horace had already gone. Suppressing a pang of anxiety, he dressed, wrapped his cloak around his shoulders to guard against the morning chill, and went down to the courtyard. To his surprise he found Bob there waiting for him. He had on a toothy grin and was holding the reins of—

‘ _Tug_ ,’ Will said in relief, moving forward at a fast walk. He dropped his crutch a few paces away and leaned against Tug, hugging him tightly, and the way Tug dropped his head to rest on Will’s shoulder warmed his heart.

_You’re silly for not visiting me earlier._

‘I know,’ Will murmured.

‘Brought ‘im to check on how that leg of his is doin’,’ Bob said, affectionately patting Tug’s neck. ‘The ol’ boy’s healin’ up fine. If ya wanna ride ‘im back to where I’m staying, go right ahead. ‘e needs to be there anyway.’

‘Thanks, Bob,’ Will said. He climbed onto Tug, accepted the crutch that Bob had picked up, and let Tug take the lead to a makeshift stable some few dozen metres from the wall of the courtyard. A few other ranger horses were there, and they nickered lightly at them before going back to cropping the grass.

Will stroked Tug’s side. ‘I need you to stay still for me, buddy,’ he said softly, and instantly Tug was standing perfectly still. Will leaned over to put his crutch down, leaning it against Tug’s leg, then carefully slid off. He took a moment to lean against Tug before getting the crutch under him again and patting Tug’s neck. ‘Thanks.’

Tug turned to him, twitching his tail. _You act like that was hard._

Will laughed and sat on a stool that must have been set up for Bob. Even after their brief ride Will could see Tug favouring his leg and was struck by a pang of guilt. He resolved not to ride Tug again that day to avoid hurting him further. He spent a long time just talking to Tug, getting his worries out, and taking comfort in the presence of the only living thing, man or beast, who knew everything about Will. So invested was he that he barely noticed Bob come back, and only stopped talking when Tug looked up. Will looked, too.

Horace was there, standing beside Victory. He had trimmed his beard and hair, making Will suddenly aware of how ragged his own hair was. Horace didn’t seem to mind; instead, he said, ‘It’s ready.’  
Will stood, not needing clarification. ‘Is it far?’

‘A bit,’ Horace said. ‘You’ll want to ride there.’

Will looked at Tug, who had trotted over and was touching noses with Victory. Tug was still favouring his leg. ‘I can’t make the journey on Tug.’

Without protest Horace knelt down on the muddy ground and cupped his hands. Will allowed Horace to boost him into the saddle. He looked over his shoulder as Horace mounted behind him. ‘Where are we going?’

‘You’ll see. It’s not far.’ He turned the horse and went off at a gentle trot. Tug kept pace with them and Will went to protest, but caught Bob waving him off from the corner of his eye and smiled.

The combination of the afternoon sun and Horace’s body heat behind him warmed Will quickly and he took off his cloak, laying it over his crutch on the pommel of the saddle. They were going down the broad path that lead to the nearby town, but went off on a smaller side path. Will could see a familiar horse entering the woods not far off and thought he recognised the person riding it. ‘Is that Gilan?’

‘Who’s Gilan?’ Horace said lightly.

Will elbowed him. ‘Is he going where we’re going?’

Horace picked up the cloak and put it backwards over Will’s face so his view was blocked. ‘No peeking.’

‘You’re a bastard,’ Will said in a muffled voice, but he made no move to take off the hood.

‘Yeah, but that’s why you love me,’ Horace said.

Will heard the breeze blowing through the trees and knew they had entered the forest. He also knew they were going deeper into it, because the sound of moving branches came more frequently, and knew they turned off the trail when Victory’s and Tug’s hooves went from walking on the hard-packed trail to something much softer that blanketed all noise – perhaps a spongy moss, he thought. The trees here must be more widely-spaced, Will thought, because Horace rarely had to move to accommodate them, but he could still hear the sound of branches blowing in the wind, and figured the trees must be tall and their branches spreading into a high, wide canopy. He wasn’t very familiar with the forest surrounding Castle Araluen, but he thought it must be very nice.

After a long time, Horace reined in and took the cloak off Will’s face. ‘We’re here.’

They had arrived in a large clearing. As Will thought, it was covered in fresh moss, bundles of grass and tiny trees no bigger than sticks coming up here and there. A cabin with a porch and attached stable was at one end, and a group of people stood outside it. Will swept his eyes over them and saw Gilan and Jenny were there, Alyss and George, as well as Princess – no, _Queen_ Madelyn, Will remembered. Cassandra and her husband had abdicated over the winter due to the king’s failing health. Cassandra was there behind Madelyn, and when she saw Will, she broke into a smile.

‘Cassandra? Gilan? Maddie—your majesty.’ Will looked back at Horace. ‘Why is everyone here? Wherever here is.’

Horace slid off Victory and helped Will down. To Will’s surprise, he got down on one knee. ‘Will Treaty, ever since we were apprentices you’ve made me the happiest man in Araluen, first as my friend, then as my partner. Now I want to know if you’ll do that for the rest of our lives.’ He took Will’s hand in both of his. ‘As my husband.’

‘H…’ Will’s voice came out as a dry rasp, and he swallowed and tried again. ‘Hus…band?’

He looked at the assembled group, all watching keenly. ‘That’s…that’s not allowed. Is it?’

‘It is now,’ Madelyn said.

‘I wanted to know what you thought of the idea,’ Gilan said. ‘It’s why I asked you about how serious you were. After that I went to Cassandra. We spent months working it out with the nobles and advisers to make sure they all supported it.’

‘Husband,’ Will whispered. ‘ _Husband_.’

‘If you say yes, you’ll be married right here, right now,’ Madelyn said.

Will looked down at Horace. He was looking serious, his knuckles white where his hands gripped Will’s, and he was making fixed eye contact.

Will nodded. ‘Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Horace.’

Horace’s face broke into an expression of mingled relief and delight and he stood, pulling Will into a hug that lifted him off his feet. The assembled crowd clapped and moved to surround them, offering congratulations and hugs. The two men let them, spending the next several minutes in the middle of the group, until finally Madelyn stepped back and everyone fanned out again. Cassandra and Gilan stood on either side of her. Horace went to stand between them, and Will spent a moment just looking at them, overwhelmed at the loving support he felt coming off of everyone.

Tug nudged his back. _Go on_. Will turned back and rested his forehead against Tug's, then turned and took his place next to Horace.

Madelyn began speaking then. ‘I am pleased to welcome everyone present to a marriage which is undoubtedly the first of its kind in Araluen: a marriage between two men, one of this kingdom’s finest knights and greatest rangers. A marriage, I might add, which is long overdue.’ She grinned at Will and Horace. ‘So in the interest of not delaying further: Horace Altman,’ and here Horace instinctively stood up straighter, ‘do you take Will Treaty as your husband?’

‘I do,’ Horace said.

‘Will Treaty, do you take Horace Altman as your husband?’

Will tried speaking, but his voice came out as a croak. He cleared his throat as Madelyn chuckled. ‘I’m gonna assume that’s a yes.’

Will nodded.

‘Then I pronounce you husbands. You may—’

Horace didn’t wait for her to finish speaking before pulling Will into a kiss, and Will dropped his crutch to wrap his arms around Horace’s neck.

Madelyn turned to Cassandra. ‘They didn’t let me finish,’ she said as the assembled crowd clapped. ‘The first marriage I do as queen and I don’t even get to finish it.’

Cassandra tutted at them and shook her head, but when Horace finally pulled back and Will opened his eyes he saw her grin and wink at them.

‘Uncle Horace, the rings,’ Madelyn said after a moment.

‘Oh, right,’ Horace muttered. He turned and accepted something from Cassandra, and Will felt Gilan press something into his palm. He looked at it. It was a silver band impeccably carved with miniature oak leaves.

Will took Horace’s hand in his trembling one and slid the ring on his finger. He was starting to get weak from standing so long without his crutch and leaned heavily on Horace as soon as the ring was on. Even when some unseen hand helped get the crutch under his arm, he stayed where he was.

He felt Horace slide a ring on his finger as well and peeked down at it. It was a matching silver band, this one with a simplified boar motif that Will recognised as being based off Horace’s crest.

It seemed like tables emerged from nowhere. Alyss and Gilan arranged them in a circle in the centre of the clearing as George brought out chairs. Cassandra laid out linen tablecloths and Jenny set out a veritable feast. Horace helped Will to a chair and Will marvelled at the food in front of him. ‘Jenny, you must’ve spent all day on this.’

‘I did.’ Jenny gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek and she and Gilan took their seats.

Will looked around the tables. Assembled here was everyone he cared about, and he felt like he could burst at any moment from the love he felt for all these people.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. What could he say that was even close to what they had done for him, something they had been planning for months?

‘I…thank you,’ he said finally. ‘Thank you. Thank you. For everything.’ He wiped his eyes and gestured to the food. ‘Dig in.’

For a while the clearing was full of the sounds of eating. Will snuck Tug an apple from the table, but for the most part focused on his food as well. Once everyone had sated their initial hunger the buzz of conversation began, and Will spent hours asking everyone how they’d planned it, which everyone seemed only too eager to tell him.

‘It was funny, actually,’ Gilan said. ‘I wanted to talk to Horace, and he wanted to talk to me. Turns out we were both worried about you. You weren’t taking to retirement well.’

‘We both had the same idea,’ Horace said, nodding. ‘We thought a wedding would cheer you up. I wanted to propose to you right away, but Gilan held me back.’

‘They needed to make sure we could let you get married properly,’ Cassandra said. ‘I started the negotiations with the nobles. Alyss spent most of her time taking messages back and forth.’

‘I drafted the law,’ George said pompously. ‘With the help of the queen, of course,’ he added, nodding first to Cassandra, then Madelyn.

From the look mother and daughter shared, Will gathered George had done most of the talking at those meetings. He snorted into his tumbler of ale.

Slowly twilight fell upon the glade and the assembled guests packed everything away onto a cart that Cassandra, Madelyn, Alyss, George and Jenny got on. Gilan took Tug’s reins, giving Will a final hug. ‘I’ll get him back, never you worry,’ he said.

‘Thanks, Gil,’ Will said, returning the hug, then hugging Tug as well. Gilan got on Blaze and trotted off through the trees.

Will let out a deep breath. He was suddenly feeling very tired. He turned to Horace. ‘I guess we’re heading back too, then?’

‘Ah…not quite.’ Horace grinned and gestured to the cabin. ‘Welcome home.’

Will approached the cabin and stepped onto the porch. Immediately he could see what he hadn’t noticed before – every plank was brand new. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The cabin was one room with a ceiling that sloped down at the back. A wide bed and squat wardrobe were in the back corner, a large fireplace at the other end. There was a kitchen near the fireplace that seemed much larger than the one he had in his old ranger cabin. All around the cabin, Will recognised their personal belongings – his longbow hanging on the wall, their couch in front of the fireplace, their quilt on the bed. But there was more than just their own furnishings. The kitchen was not as large as he had thought, but rather it was long, and a comfortable chair on wooden wheels was there. The kitchen consisted of a long counter with some cabinets, a washbasin and a stove on top of it, everything of the right height for a rather short man to sit in the chair and still reach everything.

Will turned and stepped back onto the porch. ‘Horace?’

Horace grinned and gestured around to the cabin. ‘This is what I’ve been doing all this time. I had to get the outside done before the snow came, so I stopped working with Sir Kay to get it done before working on the inside.’

‘But all this work…just for me?’ Will said.

Horace went over to him and cupped his face in his hand. ‘You hate it in the castle,’ he said softly. ‘Gilan says you spend your whole day looking outside. You can work on the porch here. He already said he’ll arrange for someone to bring your work down for you every day.’ He smiled. ‘Besides…I said back when we were kids that I’d build a house for the one I love.’

They shared a tender kiss.

‘Your wife,’ Will murmured.

‘What?’

‘As I recall, you said you’d build your wife a house. Your exact words.’

Horace laughed. ‘Okay, so my plans changed slightly. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

*

Will put his inkwell on the papers to stop them shifting in the morning breeze. From this angle the sunlight hit the porch right on, warming him quickly and giving him good light to work with. He still had work from the night before to complete before Gilan’s messenger arrived to take it back and deposit fresh work for him. He was getting a lot done every day now, and Gilan trusted him to get done harder and more involved tasks.

He heard Horace’s heavy footsteps and smelled the coffee he carried. He reached up automatically and accepted his cup, smiling up at Horace. Horace returned the smile and put his hand on Will’s shoulder.

They stood in silence for a bit, watching Victory browse the edge of the clearing and birds singing in the trees. Will leaned into Horace and Horace’s hand squeezed his shoulder.

‘Happy anniversary, love.’


End file.
